I'm Here
by Calicocats45
Summary: Alison embraces Emily the moment she emerges from the dollhouse, and will be with her every step of the way as Emily struggles to adjust to a normal life after the torture she's endured. Emison. Off-canon from when the liars escape the dollhouse.
1. Chapter 1

Even with thick smoke assaulting her lungs and adrenaline making her body tremble violently, there was nothing more comforting than the embrace of Alison Dilaurentis. Everything ceased to exist as the tearful blonde girl wrapped her arms around Emily, and she allowed herself to feel grounded. To feel real. Alison was murmuring comfortingly into her ear, though Emily, mind fuzzy with adrenaline, hardly understood the words. Tears that weren't there threatened to fall, but Emily knew she wouldn't cry. She couldn't. All she felt was numbness as the realization that this was all finally over, and the only warmth to penetrate that numbness was Alison's touch.

Alison moved to pull back from the hug to look at Emily, and the brunette reluctantly released her grip on the smaller girl. She reached out to take Emily's hand, silently communicating that she was still there and unwilling to completely give up Emily's touch after having been without it for so long. She gazed into Emily's eyes, almost black in the dim illumination of the moon, and saw emptiness. Tired, pained, emptiness that conflicted with the whirlwind of emotion in the blonde's own eyes. Alison felt her heart break for the umpteenth time that night at seeing the taller girl, once lively, gentle, and sweet now all sunken eyes and a broken gaze. She wanted to pull Emily into another hug, but more than that she wanted to get away from the hell that Emily had been locked up in, and knew that if she embraced Emily again, she might not let go.

Alison sat in the driver's seat of her own car, waiting for Emily to buckle up her seat belt, which she fumbled with momentarily before clicking it into place. Alison, of course, was to drive her own vehicle home. Spencer, Aria, Hanna, Mona, and that other girl who's name Alison couldn't remember had gone with the police. Emily could have, as well, but when Alison saw how anxious the idea of getting into the cop car had made the brunette, she'd offered her a ride which Emily had accepted without hesitation. Alison has watched each of her friends get into separate police cars, and couldn't help but notice that, never once, did any of the girl's cast a glance at one another. Emily in particular had hardly been subtle about avoiding the girls as the police attempted to sort things out, and though Alison could understand that, after weeks of being locked up together, they might wish for some time apart, she thought it odd that they seemed to want nothing to do with each other. She didn't ask Emily about it, however. She didn't think it was the time to ask Emily much of anything, so instead, she pulled out onto the road in silence.

Alison drove in silence while Emily sat like a statue beside her, her body stiff and unmoving. Alison wanted so badly to say something that could comfort Emily, but she couldn't figure out what she could possibly say in that moment that would make anything better. The brunette girl must have gone through hell down there; Alison couldn't even begin to imagine what Charles had done to them. When she was stopped by a red light, she turned to Emily with a slight smile and opted for a comforting gesture to comfort her. Reaching out, she rested her hand gently on Emily's thigh and opened her mouth to speak when the taller girl jumped back suddenly, nearly hitting her head on the window as she did. Alison pulled away with a quiet gasp, startled by the brunette's reaction as Emily, limited in mobility by her seatbelt, sat in her seat as far as she could be from Alison, her breaths quick and eyes wide.

"Emily…" Alison started, realizing the idiocy of her own action. Of course Emily would react like that; she'd just gone through weeks of absolute hell. "I'm so sorry, I…" her voice trailed off and she let it.

Emily stared at her for a second, calming herself down as she settled back into the comfortable seat. She cast her gaze at her feet, looking ashamed. Alison felt even worse; Emily shouldn't be ashamed. Alison was the one who had messed up, and the blonde didn't want Emily to have to feel any worse than she already did, especially if it were because of her.

After what felt like an endless drive, Alison pulled into Emily's driveway. She turned to the brunette, who was looking out of the window with a seemingly confused expression on her face. It took Alison a moment to realize what it was that Emily was looking for, and she let out a quiet sigh.

"You're mom has been in Texas since you've been… away" she finished uncertainly.

"Away," Emily repeated darkly, and Alison tried not to react to the unfamiliar raspy dullness in her voice.

Alison offered a small, sad smile before getting out of the car and moving to open Emily's door for her. She thought about offering her hand to help the still-shaky girl out, but decided against it when she thought back to the earlier incident.

She found the spare key in a bush, remembering the time long ago when Emily had told her about it, and lead Emily inside. Closing the door behind them, she watched Emily carefully. The brunette took a few tentative steps further into the house, looking around as if the place were entirely unfamiliar to her. They moved through the house at Emily's pace, eventually reaching the brunette bedroom which she seemed especially hesitant to enter. Alison wondered about that, but was quiet as they went inside, seating themselves on Emily's bed, which bounced a bit with their weight.

Emily was fidgety as she sat, and Alison looked at her with concern in her eyes. "Do you want something to eat? Or drink?" she asked slowly, being extra careful now not to startle her.

Emily, who had been glancing anxiously around turned her gaze to Alison, and the blonde could have sworn that Emily relaxed just slightly as she did so. The brunette shook her head slowly, and reached her hand out towards Alison's, which was resting on her lap. Alison smiled gently and took Emily's hand into her own, grateful that the brunette had initiated physical contact and hopeful that it meant she was forgiven for the earlier incident. Entwining their fingers, she rubbed her thumb tentatively over Emily's, and felt the brunette relax a bit into the touch.

Emily's gaze observed Alison's touch carefully, before she looked up to meet Alison's eyes, allowing herself to be calmed by the oceans of blue that Alison held in her gaze. "Can we just sleep?" she croaked, squeezing Alison's hand a bit as if trying to ensure that the blonde in front of her was real, and not just another horrible game.

Alison gazed back at Emily, not wanting to look away for fear that it all might be a dream. It wouldn't have been the first dream Alison had of Emily coming home, but this time, it was real. Her mermaid was home, but taking a closer look at Emily's hollow eyes, Alison worried that Charles' torture had left Emily so far gone, that the brunette wasn't really home at all. She shoved the thought out of her mind as quickly as it had come. Of course Emily was home, she just needed time.

"Of course," Alison replied softly, giving one last gentle squeeze before she got up to fix the bed for Emily to sleep in. Alison knew that, really, Emily needed to eat and drink. The poor girl needed a shower as well, and to change out of her dirtied clothes. But, seeing the absolute exhaustion in Emily's eyes broke Alison's thoughts of reason, and she found herself tucking the brunette into bed, not wanting to deny Emily a thing that she wanted.

Emily curled up under the covers, Alison noted. Through all of their sleepovers Emily had always taken up her share of space on the bed, yet now, curled up in a ball, she was taking up as little space as possible. The blonde stood awkwardly over Emily, who shut her eyes. She took a step back, not wanting to leave Emily in the house alone but also not wanting to overstep her bounds and push the brunette too far, she opted for sleeping downstairs on the couch so that she'd be there for Emily, if she was needed.

However, eyes still shut, Emily caught her arm before she could move away. "Don't leave," she whispered.

Alison looked down at the brunette girl, who opened her eyes to gaze pleadingly back at her. "I'll just be downstairs," she assured her.

"No," Emily shook her head slightly. "Stay here, please," she gave Alison's arm a gentle tug towards the bed, and Alison, with only a moment's hesitancy, complied.

Emily shifted to the other side of the bed, and Alison crawled in beside her, keeping to the edge of her side in order to ensure that Emily had as much space as she wanted. Lying on her back, she stared up at Emily's ceiling, which was barely visible in the dim moonlight. Alison didn't figure she'd get much sleep tonight, her mind was far too loud for that, but she hoped that the exhausted girl beside her would sleep, even if just a bit. She deserved the rest.

She hadn't intended to touch Emily at all while they slept, only wanting to provide a reassuring presence considering that the brunette girl probably needed her space after what she'd been through. She found herself proved wrong when Emily shifted on the bed, scooting a bit closer to her. Alison didn't move, but soon Emily pressed her body up against hers, and Alison didn't complain. Emily buried her face in Alison's neck, draping her arm gently over the blonde's stomach. Alison, still weary of startling Emily, was slow and tentative when she began caressing Emily's dark hair.

"I missed you," Emily's voice was tired, but genuine as she nuzzled further into Alison's neck, breathing in the scent of her blonde hair.

"I missed you too, Em," Alison whispered, holding the brunette gently.

Alison felt Emily's quietly-shed tears on her neck, but didn't say a word.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the fantastic response to the first chapter! I really appreciate everyone who has enjoyed the story so far, so thank you for the positive reviews, favourites, and follows. It really means a lot!**

* * *

 _Bonjour, Guten Morgen, Buenos Dias!_

The voice echoed in Emily's head as she slept, causing the brunette to toss and turn on her bed with nightmarish memories and utter terror. She woke herself with her own thrashing movements and spent a few moments staring up at her ceiling. Or Charles' ceiling? As she sat up, she realized that she was alone. The warm body of Alison Dilaurentis was no longer pressed comfortingly up against hers. She was alone in her bed. Or Charles' bed? Had her reunion with Alison all been a dream? It wasn't like it was the first dream she'd had of getting out of this hell, but it had been so vivid.

She stood up suddenly, realizing that she was adorned in the same clothes she'd had on in the dollhouse. They were bloodstained, which, as much as Emily hated it, had been a normal occurrence since she'd been forced to live here. She never knew what she'd wake up to; none of them did. Aria had woken up with her hair cut and Spencer had awoken covered in blood, left to wonder where it had all come from. That was normal for them now. They had lost all control over their lives and themselves. It was all just a cruel, sick game.

Mind fuzzy with confusion as to what had been real and what had been dreamed, she felt panic flood her veins. She couldn't still be in there. She couldn't. That dream had been so vivid. Alison had been so _real._

Rushing to her door, she pulled it open forcefully just as Alison, standing on the other side, was about to. They collided with each other harshly, Alison barely retaining balance of the breakfast tray she was holding, which she set down on the dresser by the doorway so as not to risk its contents spilling again. Emily hadn't realized how evident her panic was until she saw the concern in Alison's deep blue eyes.

"Em, what's wrong?" she asked, and Emily realized that she was shaking when Alison placed a gentle hand on her arm.

"You weren't there when I woke up," her voice was a trembling whisper, raspy still with sleep. "I thought I was back there,"

Alison pulled her in a tight embrace, which Emily didn't hesitate in reciprocating. The blonde held Emily tightly, wanting the anxious brunette to feel safe.

"I'm sorry, Em, I shouldn't have left," she murmured gently into Emily's ear. When the brunette still didn't stop shaking, she rubbed her hand soothingly up and down her back. "I'm here now. I'm here. You're safe, Emily."

They stayed within each other's embrace until Alison felt Emily begin to relax in her arms. She pulled back finally, her hands lingering on Emily's hips. When she saw the brunette glance past her and towards the untouched breakfast tray, she chuckled slightly.

"I made you breakfast," she said with a warm smile, but Emily stayed staring at the food.

 _Aria. Hanna. Spencer. One gets food. One gets water. One gets electrocuted. That was the game._

 _She saw the three switches laid out in front of her, each adorned with a picture of their respective girl. She shook her head when she heard the voice echo through the room, repeating the instructions._

" _No… No…" she mumbled, holding her head in her hands._

 _She was running out of time and she knew it. It was time to pick who got electrocuted. It was time to hear the screams. Emily had yet to be shocked, but from the screams she'd heard over the past hours all of her friends had been. No one had selected her, they'd all spared her. Yet, now she was going to have to hurt them._

 _She couldn't do it. She couldn't. But if she didn't, they'd all be shocked. Emily was afraid, and she hated herself when she realized that she was afraid for herself. Afraid of being shocked. That was unfair; all of the others had clearly been shocked, shouldn't she take a turn? But, she couldn't let everyone be shocked. That was worse, right?_

 _Right?_

 _Panic bubbled inside her, and the instructions repeated themselves for the fourth and what was most likely the final time. She had seconds to choose before they all received the shock._

 _Tears flooding her eyes and soaking her cheeks, cowardice won out as she flipped Spencer's switch._

"Emily!" Alison shook Emily's shoulders more forcefully now, breathing out a sigh of relief when Emily's milky eyes blinked a few times and focused on her.

As Emily came out of the intense, vivid flashback, she came to terms with her location. She was safe now. Alison was here, and she wasn't in the dollhouse anymore. The two girls were sat on the floor, Alison had watched the brunette, shaking and whimpering from the horrific memories, sink anxiously to the floor. She was leaning up against the wall for support, while Alison ran a soothing hand up and down her leg. Sweat drenched her entire body, matting her hair and soaking her skin. The blonde was sat beside her, terrified as she watched Emily with a broken stare and violently trembling hands go through her flashback.

Alison reached out to cup Emily's cheek in her hand, feeling the brunette sink into the familiar touch. "It's okay, Emily," she said gently. "You're safe."

Emily nodded, allowing Alison's words to repeat themselves in her mind, grateful to hear anything but the dreadful voice that she awoke to every morning in the dollhouse. When she felt that she had calmed down enough, she began to stand up, gratefully accepting Alison's help as she stood on shaky legs.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alison asked as she reached for the breakfast that was still resting on the dresser. It had probably gone cold by now, but Alison didn't think that Emily would mind.

The brunette shook her head as she sat down on the edge of her bed, her eyes squeezed shut as if physically trying to shove the memories from her mind. Alison didn't want to press her, but couldn't help but wish that Emily would talk to her and trust her enough to tell her what went on. However, she rationalized that it wasn't about trust. Emily had been tortured and whatever had gone on down there had left her broken and a shell of the girl she'd been before. It made sense that she hadn't wanted to discuss it yet, but Alison just wanted to be able to help her.

She set the breakfast tray in between them and they ate in silence, Emily only tentatively nibbling at the food at first, as if conserving it for later on. However, when the food hit her stomach and she realized exactly how hungry she was, she devoured the rest of her share and some of Alison's, leaving her with a slight stomach ache when she finished.

The rest of the morning went by feeling almost normal. Emily had showered and changed out of the clothes she'd worn in the dollhouse, making a mental note to burn them later. She wanted nothing to do with that hellhole, nothing that would remind her of the weeks she spent down there. When Emily reentered her bedroom to find Alison on the bed, reading one of her novels, she surprised the blonde by requesting that they go out.

"Are you sure, Em?" Alison asked, sitting up and closing the novel without bothering to mark the page she was on. "I mean, if you're not ready-"

"I am ready," Emily affirmed. "I just want things to be… normal, again."

Alison looked thoughtful as she gazed at Emily, looking much more lively now that she'd showered and changed into clothes that weren't stained with blood and dreadful memories.

"Okay," she agreed, still unsure as to whether it was a good idea for Emily to be reconnecting with the world so quickly. "But if you even start to feel slightly uncomfortable, I'm taking you home."

"Deal," Emily said with a small smile that Alison immediately returned. It was the first time Alison had seen the taller girl smile in quite a long time, and she greatly missed the way it lit up her face.

The two had agreed to go to The Brew, considering it was around lunchtime. Emily found herself wondering whether or not she'd be going back to work there, which only lead to thoughts of school. There was no reason for her to have to go back to her job, but school was something she'd have to face sooner or later. As much as Emily wanted to return to normalcy, she wasn't sure that was the sort of atmosphere she was ready to face yet.

She felt Alison take her hand in her own as she drove. The blonde didn't take her eyes off the road, she'd be damned if she let anything happen to Emily now that she finally had the brunette girl back in her life. She did give Emily's hand a small squeeze, as if able to hear Emily's anxious thoughts plaguing her mind. She felt her mind calm a bit at the touch, and didn't let Alison's hand go until they reached The Brew.

As they walked inside, Emily casting habitual glances around them as if constantly vigilant for danger, they moved to stand in line. However, Emily froze at the realization of who stood in front of them in the line, and when the shorter girl turned around, she tensed just as well.

"Hey, Aria," Alison greeted her gently, smiling at the smaller brunette.

However, her greeting went ignored as Aria's gaze seemed to focus on Emily. Both of them were wide-eyed, each looking like deer in headlights as they took in the sight of each other. The wordless exchange lasted only a moment before they turned away as if nothing happened, Aria turning her gaze to the ground and Emily hastily excusing herself to the washroom. Alison was left to stand in line, utterly confused and left to wonder what the hell happened in that dollhouse.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been battling pneumonia for the past week. Thank you all so much for the fantastic reviews, they really do provide a lot of motivation for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

After having not returned from the bathroom within the span of five long minutes, Alison abandoned her place in line to go check on Emily. She almost asked Aria to grab her a coffee as well, figuring that she was definitely going to need it, but decided against the request when she saw how tense the short brunette girl was.

She pushed open the door into the girl's washroom, composed of three dingy white stalls, all of which were devoid of occupation, and one sink at which Emily was standing. She stood, gripping the sides of the sink tightly enough to whiten her knuckles as she gazed at herself in the mirror that hung above it, her expression unreadable. Having seen Alison enter behind her, she turned around to face the blonde. Red tinted her soulful brown eyes to reveal that she'd been crying.

"Em…" she started, tentatively moving closer to her as if too quick a movement would cause Emily to flee.

"I'm fine," the taller brunette said brusquely in response to the question Alison had been thinking but failed to say aloud, wiping briefly at her eyes with the sleeve of her black-sleeved red jacket.

"No," Alison said firmly, though her gaze was soft and laced with immense compassion for the vulnerable brunette. "You aren't."

Emily didn't speak, her eyes focused on a point on the floor as she avoided Alison's gaze. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, looking anxious.

"You can talk to me, Emily," Alison said quietly, taking another step towards her before placing a gentle hand on Emily's upper arm. She felt Emily's tense figure relax, if only slightly, as she leaned a bit into the familiar contact.

Emily's falter resolved after a moment of meeting Alison's patient blue eyes. Tears slipped from the brunette girl's eyes, and Alison wiped them away gently with her thumb.

"We did horrible things in there," Emily whispered, her tearful brown eyes full of distress that Alison desperately wished she could relieve.

Alison wasn't entirely sure of what to say in response. She wanted to ask the distressed girl in front of her to tell her exactly what happened so that she could help. However, she knew that Emily was traumatized and terrified. Alison didn't want to push Emily into talking about her horrific experiences before she was ready, but she had no idea how to help. She knew that there were no words that could defeat the demons terrorizing the brunette, and that nothing she could say would change what Emily had been forced to go through thanks to the culprit who had been identified as "Charles Dilaurentis"; Alison's own brother, whom she hadn't even known of.

Instead of speaking, Alison wrapped her arms around the brunette. Her hug was tentative at first, but when Emily returned it, she tightened her hold around Emily, who sank gratefully into the blonde's embrace. Alison smiled as she felt Emily bury her face in her blonde hair, inhaling Alison's scent for comfort.

"Let's go home, Em."

* * *

The week following their first visit to The Brew passed with few events. Because of the incident with Aria, they opted for Emily to stay home for the most-part. The brunette was still getting back into the swing of the real world, but having her mother home helped. Her mother had flown in just a day after their visit to The Brew, and while Emily was glad to have her around again and found her presence soothing, she was admittedly a bit overbearing and protective. It also meant that Alison no longer stayed over every night, and that she was bombarded with questions as to why she hadn't visited the girls even once since their escape from the dollhouse.

"My mom thinks I should go to therapy," Emily said.

She and Alison were sat in Emily's bedroom, both on the bed among several scatter pages of homework. Alison had returned to high school in hopes of graduating with her friends, but her rather lengthy absence meant that she had a lot to catch up on. The blonde was reading _To Kill A Mockingbird_ while Emily went over some of her notes in an attempt to be helpful.

Alison marked her page in the book before closing it and setting it on her lap.

"Are you going to?" She asked, unsure as to whether therapy was something she was supposed to consider good or bad.

"I'm not sure," Emily admitted. "She wants me to try group therapy with the girls…" her voice trailed off, as if she'd wanted to say more but decided against it.

Alison was silent for a moment, listening to the sound of harsh rain pattering against the window and the occasional clap of thunder. She reached over a small stack of vocabulary papers and took Emily's hand in her own, watching as she ran her thumb gently over Emily's before looking up to meet the brunette's gaze.

"Emily, what happened between you and the girls down there?" Alison asked when she had a moment of courage, before immediately regretted the question. She had managed to refrain from indulging in her curiosity because she hadn't wanted to interrogate Emily in the way that the brunette's mother had been for the past week. However, she felt helpless knowing that Emily was keeping all of her painful memories inside of her, and she wanted her to be able to talk about all of that.

"I'm sorry, Em, I didn't-" Alison began after Emily didn't answer, but was cut off by the taller girl.

"No, it's okay," Emily said slowly, fidgeting with Alison's fingers as she spoke. "I'd rather talk to you than some random therapist."

Alison nodded, and waited patiently for Emily to gather her thoughts.

"He… Charles, I mean… He just played so many games with us. These horrible games. He would make us choose between each other who got food, who got water, and who got electrocuted."

Alison's eyes were wide as she took in the information, she was appalled to learn that the brunette had been so horrendously tortured. "Did you ever get electrocuted, Em?"

"No," she paused, thinking. "But everyone else did… I heard them scream."

"We never knew what we were waking up to," Emily went on. "Sometimes we'd wake up with blood on our clothes, or we wouldn't have any memory of the past night. It was just so horrible down there. Charles made us play all of those games to show us that we were selfish," Emily's eyes brimmed with unshed tears, as she recounted her time in the hell-hole that was the dollhouse. "He showed us that we were willing to hurt each other to protect ourselves…"

"It's okay. You don't have to keep talking," Alison murmured when she saw how much the memories were troubling Emily, whose voice had begun to grow shaky. Emily looked up at Alison and nodded, before shifting position on the bed to be closer to Alison. In response, Alison wrapped her arms around Emily and gently pulled the brunette into her, and Emily rested her head on Alison's chest, relaxed by the blonde's steady heartbeat. Alison placed a tentative kiss on the top of Emily's head, before running a hand through her raven hair.

"It felt good," Emily commented after a few moments of comfortable quiet. "Talking to you, I mean. It was nice."

Alison smiled, glad that she hadn't made the brunette girl feel uncomfortable by asking her to talk about the dollhouse.

"Maybe it would feed good to talk to a therapist, too," Alison suggested tentatively. As much as she would like for Emily to keep talking to her, she knew that she couldn't provide any real help. From the way Emily seemed so torn up by her experiences, she wondered if perhaps Emily needed the therapy and, more so, to talk things over with her friends.

Emily nodded without lifting her head from Alison's chest. "I'm just not sure that I'm ready to see them."

"You girls have gotten through everything together, Em. You'll get through this, and maybe therapy is the best way to start."

"We tortured each other, Ali. That isn't something we can just get past," Emily retorted, sitting up to face Alison.

"You didn't have a choice," Alison said softly.

Emily met Alison's eyes and allowed herself to be entranced by the beautiful pools of blue. A small smile played at her lips, and noticing it, Alison couldn't help but smile herself.

"What?" she asked. Emily smiling was a rare occurrence since the dollhouse, but one that Alison absolutely treasured.

"Thank you," Emily whispered.

"For what?" Alison asked confusedly.

Before Alison knew what was happening, Emily had leaned in and her soft lips were pressed against Alison's. The kiss was slow and soft, and Alison barely had time to get over her surprise at Emily's gesture to respond before Emily had pulled away. She didn't go far, though, and her lips hovered only inches away from Alison's. Alison noticed this and wanted badly to kiss Emily again, unable to ignore the butterflies in her stomach that had risen from the kiss. However, she didn't want to push Emily, so she kept still and instead gazed with desire into deep brown eyes. Alison barely remembered the question she'd asked, until Emily spoke.

"For everything."


End file.
